Congratulations to Dianne Reid who has just completed her first race in #655.Dianne bought Craig's Zero in May & following in Nathan's wake made the Annapolis-Bermuda BOR her first raceSee Diane's website for details on her plans for the 2011 MT.www.onegirlsoceanchallenge.com

There were 3 boats in the DH division - 2 finished & Diane was awarded 1st to finish & 1st on corrected time although she was the second boat home.

'Diane Reid - One Girlís Ocean Challenge' One Girl's Ocean Challenge MediaToronto's Diane Reid headed out from Miami on Saturday afternoon to start her single handed circumnavigation of The Bahamas; this trip has been sanctioned by the Mini Class to count as Diane's 1000 qualifying miles in preparation for the 2013 Mini-Transat Race from France to Brazil. Tim Hill reports from shore:

Rounded the Miami Buoy to Start the Solo Circumnavigation5:21pm Saturday February 19, 2011

Diane put out out to sea via the narrow Biscayne Channel, which is only about 50 to 60 feet (15/18M) wide. Towards the end of the channel, the engine got swamped. With the main ready to go, and the breeze from behind, a quick hoist made for a smooth exit. Heading up the cost to the Miami Sea Buoy, the official start point of the qualifying run, Diane was dodging cruise ships and freighters 'there are some pretty big ones man!'

Diane is having some keyboard troubles. Words are not always clear over a sat phone connection, but Diane said something about 'hose the sucker down'. Having left the hose back on land, Iím left to ponder how sheíll wash the salt water out of her keyboard, or if sheíll be washing it out the with salt water. If only her keyboard was working, Diane could send her development team an email instructing them to find a notebook sponsor. Yep thatís my attempt at humour and likely why you prefer Diane to blog directly.

Diane at the helm of One Girlís Ocean Challenge - Andrew Wallace

Gorgeous Sunday Sail9:30am Sunday February 20th

Tim again passing along a slightly edited update from faithful shore crew Paul: Just got off the phone with Diane and she sounds great. She had a very busy night with about 9 big cruise ships to avoid and some freighter and other boats etc. The problem with cruise ships is that they have so many lights on board that itís hard to see the nav lights and tell what direction they are headed. They also look like a small town at first when they are a ways off.

Her spirits are high and all seems well. She ran the autopilot all night and is recharging the batteries now so she isnít using the computer for awhile.

Right now itís a gorgeous beautiful day and she is having a really good sail and making some good time.

The AIS system is working beutifully and the boat plotter is a huge asset with all kinds of info that Diane hasnít used before. Currently under full sail with genoa and no reefs. 14 kts apparent, 8 kts true, 1kt of adverse current, 97 nm to Hole in the Wall, high pressure system, will have to tack soon.

There appears to be an area off of Miami where the cruise ships sit in a holding pattern until it is their turn. She had to change course for awhile to avoid this. All of the changes to the boat have worked out well and her new sheet bags and soft shackels are pefect. Just what she needed. She is very happy with her progress and her spirits are high. She sounds pumped.

Paul writes: just off the phone with Diane and here is the afternoon update:

Diane has had a good and uneventful day. It was around 2:30pm when the breeze started to ease and 4pm when it dropped to about 5kts from the west south west. She is presently bobbing along at about 2.5kts.

There has been an unbelievable amount of freighter traffic but nothing to worry about. Diane did talk to one ship because they were not coming up on her AIS and she couldnít make out their heading. As soon as she made contact with them, they popped up on her screen. Only one sailboat and one fishing boat have been seen so far.

Speaking of fishÖ A flying fish landed in the boat last night and met with a quick eviction. No reason to keep it she still has food. Dianeís daily rations of food have been working out well. Each day she has had lots to eat and had left overs which will be kept for backup.

It has been a great day for Diane to do lots of napping and catch up on chores. You may remember the motor got swamped coming out the Biscayne Channel. Diane thought it best to give it a once over and make sure itís ok in case itís needed. The motor fired right up.

Next up: sail maintenance. Diane stitched the head sail and is doing some splicing on the storm sail. When the satellite telephone update is finished, Diane will change the pendant on the tack of the headsail.